Nermin Aydemir JTW Columnist printable version send your friend message to author add comment ()

Friday, 9 January 2009

"Some are in darkness

And others are in light

We see those in light

Those in darkness, we do not see"

Bertolt Brecht

Die Dreigroschenoper

As anyone, reading my articles can easily understand, I live in the Netherlands. The reason why I am in this country is my study here. I am conducting research on Turkish population in the Netherlands at present and specifically interested in the voting intentions of the young Turkish Dutch[1].

Political participation, especially voting, is of fundamental importance in a good functioning democracy. Effective citizen participation is crucial for a strong democratic system. The issue gets even more critical when the abstention takes place within a particular group since a democratic system is supposed to represent the entire society, not a part of it.

Young people do not seem very eager to participate though. Only 67% of the 18-24 olds reported having vote in the 1994 Dutch parliamentary elections. [2] The voting rate was 61% in 1998[3] and 69% in 2002[4], both in national elections.[5] Statistical data on electoral participation levels of ethnic minorities in parliamentary elections do not exist in the Netherlands. Nevertheless, the turn out levels in municipal elections indicates a low participation level among ethnic groups in the Dutch society. Turks (descendants) score higher when compared with other ethnicities. Yet, the amount remains behind the mainstream society[6]

Choosing a qualitative approach, I do not claim my study is representative. What I am seeking is a deeper insight into what and how these people think, behave, feel, perceive regarding elections; why some of them vote and why the others not. Throughout my research I will be looking for clues that quantitative analyses do not provide.

I try to keep my focus group as diversified as possible. I will not get into detail since a long process of data analysis is still ahead and I am supposed to write these firstly for my study. Yet, I want to share my general remarks about what my respondents have said so far.          Around half of my respondents said they would vote if elections were held tomorrow. The main motivation for voting is ‘political efficacy’. People have the motivation to go and cast the ballot if they have the motivation to get their voice heard and if they believe they can effect how things go in this country. A feeling of efficacy makes the Turkish youth feel well and stimulates seeking information for making a better choice.  Yet, political efficacy comes not from itself. Political information seems highly crucial for efficacious citizens. The more people know, the more they are aware of their rights, the more they are capable, the more they stress on finding solutions and the more they trust on others (politicians).  Having knowledge also increases the possibility of being interested in politics. People look for more information if they already have some. The relationship between knowledge and politics is a two way road, indeed. Those more interested are usually those know more. 

Higher education, improved language skills, being active in communal life, high socio-economic status are all relevant sources for higher participation in politics, not only by themselves but also through opening the path towards information. Unfortunately, the young Turkish-Dutch are not always very advanced in these requisites.

Almost half of my interviewees said they would not vote if general elections were held tomorrow. Elections, or any other politics related issue, seem too complicated.  Knowledge or interest in elections is not always very high among my focus group.  When I ask them if they wanted to see a particular party on power, many stay quiet. I hear parties like the labour or the socialist party. Sometimes they hear things about labour party from their fathers. Talking on politics does not take place very often however. When it comes to mothers, they tend to remain silent in political issues.

Few are interested in the political stance of PvdA (Partij van de Arbeid, Dutch Labour party) even if they want to vote for this party. Turkish youth learns socialists at school. In the meantime, schools are the most significant sources for political information. The quality of the civic classes is open to debate. Nevertheless, these are vital when other paths for political information are close. Socialist promises to bring equality increases the hopes of the children of guest workers. When I further go on with follow-up questions, parties in Turkey appear in their minds. Most of them support AKP. Support for AKP comes from what they have heard from their parents.

Elections are not among their popular topics when they chat. Having seldom contact with their native counterparts lessens the already small likelihood of being interested in issues in this country.

Turkish TV channels are quite popular among the Turkish immigrant society. I have always supported the Turkish satellites, or any other communication mechanisms with the country of origin, since they save immigrant population from retiring into themselves and resisting any kind of social change whatsoever. Still, those channels are far from providing satisfactory information regarding the countries of settlement.

Mosque attendance is by and large among the young Turkish-Dutch. The stimulating impacts of religious institutions differ. Generally speaking, young people get motivated to go and vote if they have active and informed people around them, integrated into Dutch society.  Imams usually do not tell too much on Dutch politics if they come from Turkey. AKP is something good: this is usually the only thing what the youth learns from traditional mosques about politics.

To my surprise, none of my interviewees mentioned their Turkish and/or Islamic identity or any particular issue affecting their voting behaviour. Sometimes Geert Wilders (extreme rightist Dutch politician with quite though stance against migrants) appears in conversations. Unfortunately, he seems to be the only one, having a concrete policy on ethnic migrants of this country.

My respondents usually look at me weirdly when I ask them whether they are angry with or have a feeling of hate regarding elections. The answer is why most of the time. No, not hate, certainly not, maybe a bit disappointment they say.

Some prefer speaking totally in Dutch, some shift to Dutch from time to time. It is not unusual that those, having difficulties in speaking Turkish, are also poor in Dutch. Insufficient language ability hinders information gathering and subsequently political participation. There are high school students, having difficulty in reading tabloids. Most of the youth of Turkish origin attend to lower schools in the Netherlands, where they are together with other immigrant children. Asserting that these people are discriminated possibly goes too far at this point. Still, an immediate action needs to be taken for set this chicken and egg dilemma in order.

To keep a long story short, shortcomings encompass political participation among ethnic groups. Part of the picture raises hopes but the situation is far from being pleasing.  The necessity for additional interest in the issue is conclusive. We need a lot to do in enhancing their capacity to participate, raising their motivation to participate and of course in opening recruiting channels.